As we noted last time we ran across the Mars Express, Bob Cunningham had discovered that the ultimate known fate of said car from the future was that it toured the country with the Russell Brothers circus from 1939 to 1942, though few photos existed of the Mars Express at that time. However, our friend Geoff Hacker recently obtained a shot of the Mars Express taken in 1940 in Fall River, Massachusetts, that fits into that time period.

Note that in this photo it no longer has the front-mounted spotlight that it wore in the Robert Stinnette photos from the late 1930s, and it’s also suffered a dent in the nose. Unsurprisingly, the license plate differs; though we can read the numbers (206-600), the photo’s too fuzzy to make out the state and date. Presuming it’s a 1940 plate, the most likely state that issued it is Missouri. The “Fall River – ToDay Only” lettering on its flank indicates that the Mars Express toured ahead of the circus to promote it.

As much as this thing toured the country specifically to draw attention, there must be more photos of it out there, wethinks.

Thanks for adding the link to the HO scale car. I have the same little plaster car on an HO layout. It has been in the same spot on the layout (which is mounted 9 inches below my art studio ceiling) for the past 30 years. But my camera equipment won’t focus in tightly enough to focus on the model which is actually only about 2.5 inches long. I painted mine silver, just like this example, because the kit came with an instruction sheet that stipulated the colors. When I later came across documentation of the actual car, I learned it was really painted a hue of copper-gold.